Cats sleep with their eyes open, here's why they do it

Cats never stop surprising us with the talents they seem so modest about. But some of their behaviour is, quite frankly, creepy. Is your feline secretly watching you when they seem submerged in a peaceful slumber? The answer is yes, they are watching you. But they are sleeping at the same time too. We humans could only dream about such abilities.

Why do cats sleep with their eyes open?

Cats experience a sleep cycle with multiple stages, just like us humans. And it is a light sleep when their eyes are more likely to stay open. Although fluff-balls are actually sleeping, their body is ‘on guard’ and they aware of everything that’s going on.

Pet felines have come a long way in their evolutionary development, but their instincts still sit deep inside them. While your home is a safe, predators-free place, your clever pet is ‘better safe than sorry' in their sleeping-with-open-eyes behaviour. ‘Half-resting’ and ‘half-seeing’ allows cats to indulge in their favourite ‘activity’ and keep track of the environment around them.

You might have noticed that their ears work in sync with the light stage of sleep and compensate for what cats don’t see. These cute hearing devices twitch and face in the direction of the slightest sound.

During the deeper REM (rapid eye movement) sleep stage, most cats have their eyes tight-shut, Paw Tracks write. Don't they look irresistible then?

When to be concerned

In most cases, open-eyes-slumber is perfectly normal.

If you are worried or see that something is bothering your cat, it’s best to monitor their behaviour while they are asleep, but also during waking hours.

If your furry enigma shows symptoms like wobbliness, loss of appetite, twitching (not during their sleep), or seizing, you may want to head to the vet right away. The same goes for complications like eye swelling or discharge, squinting, and pawing at the eye, according to Pet MD.

Read more:

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